What Happened to Us?
by tokyofool
Summary: Sasuke starts off as a relatively average kid, living an average life, with an above average intelligence. He lives just like anyone else; aside from being pretty rich. But the day he meets a boy named Naruto, things start to change and Sasuke begins to see the world differently. The two of them become incredibly close... Then one day they become separated and everything changes
1. Peachy Keen

**A/N:** Hey everyone! My name's Rhys and this is my very first story on here ^^

I'm going to try my best to provide you guys with good content, but just bare with me for now. My writing might be a bit rough, but I'll get better, I promise :P

Most of you probably know the drill by now if you've already converted into Sasanaru/Narusasu fanatics, like myself. But here it is anyway: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters from it because unfortunately, I'm not Masashi Kishimoto. Albeit, I'd love to keep Sasuke in my closet if I could. I swear I'd never forget to feed him :33

Also, just a heads up for anyone who doesn't know what Sasanaru is, it means that I ship Naruto and Sasuke together. So yeah, _boyxboy, rainbow-puking, gay stuff._ You have been warned. Maybe some other time I'll try writing straight stories, but not today.

I also intend to make this a relatively long story. Maybe like 9-15 chapters? I'll probably have lowered my ambitions by the time I finish this chapter though...

 _To give you a sense of the setting, this takes place when they're both twelve._ If you're Canadian, that's like grade 6.

Without further ado, I present to you, my very first story,

 **What Happened To Us?**

* * *

I'm just your _average_ pre-teen, attending your _average_ elementary school, with kids just as _average_ as I am. Don't get me wrong though, living an _average_ life is an underrated pleasure. I wakeup everyday with a roof over my head, two parents who love and provide for me, and a fridge full of food. I also have a good group of friends that I goof around with throughout the day. Yeah, my life's pretty good.

Now, I know I'm probably being ungrateful by saying this, but I can't help but feel like something's missing from my life though.

* * *

You know how teachers do that thing…? That thing where they completely ruin your perfect seating arrangement with your friends and make you sit with kids you don't associate with instead? Probably in the hopes that everyone will make new friends and we can all just be one big, happy family and all that shit? Yeah, that happened today. _Fantastic._ Now I'm going to be bored all day, _everyday,_ until the teacher decides to move us again.

God I'm so bored. I'm just sitting here drawing in the margins of my pages while the teacher drones on about stuff that I'm surprised people don't already know by now. Sure I _could_ just pay attention so that time might pass by faster, but I can already get easy A's on all this dumb schoolwork as I am. I wanna go back to goofing around with my friends.

I swear my teacher has it in for me. All my friends are sitting near each other and having fun, meanwhile, I'm on the other side of the class, sitting in the corner with 3 other people who - hold on, who _am_ I even sitting with?

I look around in front of me and I see a dumb-looking blond boy with his head tucked into his arms on the desk. Guess he didn't sleep much last night. What an idiot

Sitting next to him is a girl with long hair tied back into a ponytail. Her hair is just as blonde as the boy's sleeping next to her. Are they related or something?

When I turn to my right, I see that sitting right beside me is a girl with long pink hair and emerald eyes - eyes that are staring right back at me. What the heck does she want?

I'm just about to ask her what her name is, when I hear someone else call my name.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah," I grouchily replied, turning in my seat to face the person who called me.

When I see the teacher standing at the front of the room, looking at me expectantly, I correct myself. "Sorry. Yes, Sensei?"

"You should face the front instead of checking out Sakura, Mr. Uchiha," Sensei teased. The rest of the class snickers, as I fight the urge to roll my eyes. So that's her name. She's named after a tree as _big_ as her forehead and as _pink_ _and obnoxious_ as her hair. Before I could utter a response, he continued, "Come solve the problem on the board, please. We don't have all day."

Not that I would ever admit it, but GOD this Sensei ticked me off sometimes, I thought, as I got up out of my seat and walked to the front. However, I would never give _him_ the satisfaction of knowing how much he ticked me off. After all, I'm an _Uchiha_. We're known for having complete control over _everything_ , even our emotions.

Once I reached the board, I almost scoffed. It was a rudimentary math equation. How simple. I used distributive property to solve it in a matter of seconds and returned to my seat in the stupid corner of the classroom. Maybe I wouldn't have such a hard time paying attention to this boring class if Sensei didn't shove me in the goddam corner.

"That's correct. Well done, Mr. Uchiha."

Of _course_ , it's correct. I'm an Uchiha and your curriculum is juvenile. But, I'd never say any of that out loud – that would ruin the façade. Everyone thinks my brother, Itachi, and I are perfect, so we try our best to go along with it. It bodes well for our family's reputation anyway.

As soon as I sat down, I resumed vandalizing my notes with little drawings of musical theory I learned from my piano lessons the day before. As I was drawing an eighth note, I heard someone scoff. I looked up and was going to turn towards the girl with the blond ponytail, thinking she was the one who scoffed, but instead my eyes met with the blond boy seated right in front of me. Looks like someone's cranky when they don't get enough sleep.

"Well done, Mr. Uchiha," he mocked, just loud enough for me to hear.

It took me a second to digest what he had just said. I'll admit, I was momentarily distracted by his alarmingly bright eyes. I have no shadow of a doubt now that ponytail girl and this guy aren't related. Despite both of them having blond hair and blue eyes, his were much different than hers somehow. Surely he must've been wearing contacts because there was _nothing_ natural-looking about that shade of blue.

My eyes narrowed, "What's it to you..." my voice trailing off, just realizing that I didn't even have a name to spit out in disgust.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he supplied, with a condescending smirk on his face. _Hold on a second_ , I'm the one who doles out condescending smirks here. This guy's looking down on me! He's going to mess up the natural order of things.

"Great, now I have a stupid name to go with your stupid face. Pleasure to meet you, _dobe_." I smirked as the look on his face transformed into a frown. Looks like I win this one. What was I even worried about? I never lose any kind of verbal dispute and now everything is back to as it should be.

"Teme, you— "was all Naruto could get out before bell interrupted him. It's too bad, just when this class finally started getting interesting.

"Alright class, time for recess. We'll continue this once you return," Sensei announced. I have no idea what the _heck_ he was teaching before the bell rang, but I was looking forward to returning to class later for other reasons.

* * *

Time passed by at snail-speed while I waited for recess to be over. I was trying to focus on what my friends were talking about, but it seemed so boring compared to thinking of ways to annoy blondie next.

They always talk about the same things: celebrities, gossip, girls and whatever else, I don't usually partake in these conversations much. To be honest, these things never interested me in the first place. _Just how many ways can you even describe a girl's ass anyway?_ I'd rather have an intelligent conversation about something that actually matters.

Huh, I never really noticed it, but maybe I don't really have as much in common with my friends as I thought I did. But it's not like there was ever anyone _better_ to pass time with in my limited class of 30 people. Or at least, there wasn't… until now.

The recess bell rang and I almost shouted in relief. It felt like an _eternity_. It took a lot of willpower to not sprint to the doors to go back inside the school; after all, that wouldn't fit my image. Besides, it's not like I'm excited to see that blond idiot, I'm just starved for entertainment.

When I walked back into the classroom, I was surprised to see the Naruto still sitting in his desk, like he never left. Now that I think about it, I didn't see him outside for recess. Maybe he _had_ stayed here the whole time.

As I approached our set of four desks pushed together, he finally noticed my presence and quickly shoved something into his desk. What the heck was that about?

"Hiding something, Uzumaki?" I questioned.

"Oh! Uh, it's _you_ ," he oh-so-intelligently retorted back.

"Actually, it's _Sasuke_." The blond rolled his eyes at this, and I couldn't help but let out a snicker. This guy was making me mess up my image again, but I couldn't bring myself to care. No one else ever bantered with me like this and dare I say it, it was pretty darn fun. Everyone else was always too afraid to offend me... I suppose it's because they think it could mean bad things for their parents if they worked at Uchiha Corp under my own, which many of them did.

Now although I may seem intimidating, I would never consider messing up someone's finances just because their kid mouthed off to me. It's just what us kids do. What someone says to me has nothing to do with what my parents or what their parents do, but people can believe whatever they want. It's not worth the energy it takes to try and convince people otherwise. If it prevents people from annoying me, it's fine by me. I'm under no obligation to fix their messed-up mentalities.

"You still there Sas- _gay_?"

"What?" I blinked.

"You were staring at me for an entire 53 seconds without blinking. How don't your eyes not hurt? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had a thing for me, Sas- _gay_."

"Oh look at you. Aren't you clever?" I said rubbing my eyes. Yeah, my eyes really burned now that he's mentioned it. Also, what was with that oddly specific number? Was he actually counting how long I "stared" at him for?

"As _if_ I'd be looking at you, I was just thinking and _you_ happened to be right in front of me while I was doing so."

"Thinking about what?" He asked.

I was about to give him some smartass remark, thinking that he had given me another jab, but I was surprised to see a sincerely honest and curious look on his face. As if he actually wanted to hear what I had to say. It threw me off a bit. _He's a strange one._

"I'm a what?" He asked inquisitively. _Shoot_ , did I say that out loud? Just what is wrong with me today? I strained my brain think of _anything_ to say to that. I wasn't expecting to voice an honest opinion about him like that and now I was drawing a blank.

"You heard me," I muttered, turning away from him to face the front. Thank goodness we're in class, I can just pretend to pay attention to Sensei until I regain my composure.

"Hey, what the heck! You can't just call me strange and then ignore me like that!" He exclaimed. I could feel my face flushing. God, I messed up and things were only getting more embarrassing now. Couldn't he quiet down? I'm literally sitting less than two metres away from the idiot.

"Something the matter, Mr. Uzumaki?" Sensei asked. _Oh great_ , now everyone's going to be watching us.

Naruto's face turned pink, "Peach a key, Sensei," he replied.

Sensei laughed at this, "You mean _'Peachy keen_ '?" he asked with his eyebrows raised in amusement.

With a shy smile, Naruto laughed nervously, "Aha, right. Whoops." It took everything in me not to start laughing then and there. Seeing him embarrassed just set something off in me. It was funny, but it also gave me a fuzzy, warm feeling that I didn't recognize.

Shortly after that, I slipped out of the classroom and headed to the bathroom. Once I reached it, I immediately shut the door and leaned against it. I stood there for about two seconds until I burst out laughing, I gripped my sides as I laughed harder than I can recall ever doing. I don't know _why_ I found that ordeal so funny, but I wasn't complaining. It felt good to laugh like this. By the time I finally got it all out of my system, I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard, and my vision was blurry. God, if everyday was going to be like this, it might actually be a good not-so-average year for once.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone try to open the door. I went full-ninja mode and ran into a stall without trying to make a sound, as to not lead the other person to believe that I was running into a stall just now.

Sure, I could've played it off like I wasn't borderline _maniacally_ laughing in the bathroom by myself, but that wouldn't explain why the door was blocked, so I panicked. I've been feeling more emotions today than I probably have all year. This Naruto kid has been really throwing me off today. _Speak of the devil_ , it was _blondie_ who walked in through the door right after that.

 _What's he doing here?_ I thought to myself.

 _Probably using the bathroom for what normal people use it for. Not laughing their asses off, that's for sure,_ I thought to myself again, answering my own question.

God, this is almost as bad as talking to myself. Am I losing it? Or did I just never have it to begin with? No, no, this is all Naruto's fault. _But I know it's not_ … Oh, forget it! _Stop thinking._ I ruminate way too much. _Okay that's it_ , I'm going to stop thinking about this in… _3… 2… 1_ …

I heard Naruto shuffling around the bathroom and closed one eye to peak at what he was doing from the crack in between the stalls.

He was standing in front of the washroom sink, washing his face. Alright, well at least it meant that he'd be done soon and I could finally leave this stall. The school washrooms stink like you wouldn't believe and I'd rather not torture my nostrils for any longer than necessary.

Naruto finished washing his face, gave him self a quick look in the mirror, his face a bit red, and then exited the washroom.

 _Sweet freedom_. I had to mentally remind myself that I couldn't sprint out of the washroom just yet. Naruto might still be around and wouldn't it just be _delightful_ to try and explain what the heck I was doing this time.

I counted to 60 twice for good measure and then finally left that _literal_ shithole.

As I made it to the door frame, I exhaled a breath I didn't even know I was holding. When I leave this place in a few years, that is definitely something I won't miss. I don't understand why my parents had to enroll me in this place instead of a school that actually enough money to afford a decent ventilation system in the washroom. They could even afford to send me to the best private school in the country, so _why on earth_ did they send me _here_? I continued to try and think up an answer as I re-entered the classroom.

I didn't register that I had return to class until I was standing in front of my desk. Well, it's not like I could stay in the washroom forever anyway. I don't think my lungs would be able to bare it.

I noticed that it was unusually quiet in the classroom and everyone seemed to be working away on something, but when I looked at the people at _my_ table, they weren't doing a damn thing. Ponytail girl was tapping away on her phone, her nails clicking loud against the screen as she sent rapid-fire texts. Tsubaki - no wait, what was her name again? Sa... Sa... Sakshi? Whatever, _pinky_ was playing with the ends of her hair. And Naruto... had his arms crossed and this peeved look on his face as he looked up at me.

 _What the heck?_


	2. The Project

**Previously:**

I noticed that it was unusually quiet in the classroom and everyone seemed to be working away on something, but when I looked at the people at _my_ table, they weren't doing a damn thing. Ponytail girl was tapping away on her phone, her nails clicking loud against the screen as she sent rapid-fire texts. Tsubaki - no wait, what was her name again? Sa... Sa... Sakshi? Whatever, _pinky_ was playing with the ends of her hair. And Naruto... had his arms crossed and this peeved look on his face as he looked up at me.

 _What the heck?_

* * *

"What are you, some kind of gangster, Uzumaki?" I questioned.

"Teme, where the hell have you been for the past 20 minutes? I even went looking for you," he said, ignoring my question.

I wasn't sure how to respond the that. I wasn't about to tell him that I had been hiding out in the bathroom all that time, trying to avoid getting caught by the blond in the process.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Naruto sighed, rubbing his face. "But if we fail this, it's all _your_ fault." Wait, _fail_? Fail _what_? I don't fail anything _ever_!

"What are you talking about?" I inquired, trying to hide the panic I felt rising in my chest. But Naruto didn't seem to feel like answering my question and simply let out another tired sigh.

"Someone else explain it," the boy muttered, barely audible.

"Oh, I will!" ponytail girl yelled excitedly, her head immediately whipping up from her phone screen.

"C'mon Ino, you weren't even listening when Sensei was telling us about the project. _You_ don't even know what it's about!" Pinky said, rolling her eyes. "I'll explain it instead," she said smugly. Ponytail girl's name is _Ino_ , huh? Looks like I've learned yet _another_ useless name.

"Oh please, _Sakura_ ," right, Pinky's name was Sakura, "You were on your phone too," Ponytail gi—I mean _Ino_ returned. Well, with that being said, It'd be best to convince Naruto tell me about this project since both these girls seem as lost as I am.

"Naruto?" I said. No response. Did he not hear me?

" _Naruto?_ " I said a little louder. _No way_. Was he giving me the silent treatment? We're _twelve,_ not _five._

"Dobe," I tried instead. His eye twitched a bit at that one, but he still didn't answer me.

"Naruto," I started, "If you don't tell me what the heck so is going on, then you're just as culpable as I am for our potential bad grade." I have my fingers crossed that he'll cave in and respond to this.

"Fine, but you have to make it up for me for making us wait for you," he said.

"Oka-wait what?" I asked.

"We were assigned a group project to do together. The _four_ of us. But we couldn't start it since you weren't here and now we're behind the other groups. i think I deserve compensation for that," he replied.

A group project _already_? I only just learned these people's _names._ Damn, I seriously hate group projects. Getting quality work from other classmates is like pulling teeth and I always end up doing all the work myself while everyone else just sits around. I mean, I never minded much when I ended up doing all the work for group projects with my _friends_ because I can actually benefit from that; but doing all the work for people I don't even associate is just a pain that's not worth my time _or_ effort.

"I have nothing to make up for. You should've just started it without me then," I retorted.

"Trust me, I _wanted_ to, but the girls insisted that we wait until you returned. They got all _'_ It's two against one. Majority rules.' and I got stuck having to wait for you," he complained.

"Well I'm here now, so what are you waiting for?" I asked. "Or was that all just an excuse to not have to do any work?"

" _Excuse_ me?!" Naruto bellowed. "I would've _loved_ to start this damned thing without you. Believe it."

"Then let's commence. You can start by explaining the project to me, unless you wanted to do this entire thing yourself. It doesn't look like Ino or Sakura will be detaching themselves from their phones anytime soon and I'm pretty useless if I don't even know what's going on," I reasoned.

"I could perfectly well do it myself," he started. "But there's no point in having a perfectly _functional_ , though _irritating_ brain like your own go to waste, now is there?" he said bitterly.

I see what he did there. He didn't want to downplay his own capabilities, but he most certainly doesn't want to have to do all the work for this project on his own. Well, I still get what I wanted anyway, he has to explain the project to me now.

"I suppose not," I smirked.

For the rest of the period, Naruto proceeded to explain the project to me and we brainstormed how we should design and present our ideas. However, our late start left us at a disadvantage, as that's all of the work we were able to complete during the class time we were given. To be honest, I was rather surprised. I expected him to back off once he finished rehashing what Sensei had said while I was gone, but it seemed like he was actually going to work together with me on this thing.

"Well at least we know what we want to do. We've just gotta do it all now." Naruto said.

"Do we get more time to work on this again?" I questioned.

"Not in class," Naruto answered sadly. "I guess we'll just split up the work, do it individually on the weekend, and then put it all together early in the morning on Monday." Ah, _gross._ Mondays already suck, I don't want to have to prolong my suffering my coming to school even earlier than I already do.

"Sasuke?"

"Uhh, sorry what?" I responded. I mentally facepalmed, well that was undignified.

He made a face, "I asked if coming to school an hour earlier seemed like enough time." _Why, why, why, why, whyyy?_ That's cutting into precious sleeping time. Every extra hour I have to spend at school is an hour I could be sleeping, training, or even _reading_ for god's sake. There's only one alternative I can think of for saving that precious hour on Monday.

"How about if we just get together on the weekend to work on this?" I supplied. "We can do it at my house."

Naruto stared at me with his eyebrows raised and eyes wide.

"What?" I scoffed.

"Uh, uhm."

"If you don't want to, just say so," I said irritably. It drives me nuts when people can't just say what they think. It's just inefficient and wastes my time.

"No, it's not that," he blurted. "I was just surprised."

"Hn." Surprised over what? I asked because it's a group project. It's not like I had much of a choice.

"So where's your house? We should continue working on it after school today so we have the weekend to work on to as well. Who knows how long this is actually going to take us."

"Uchiha district," I answered.

Naruto put his hand on his chin and looked pensive for a moment, "Wait, isn't that outside of the city?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it's only 45 minutes or so by car. It's not really that far."

"A-Actually, how about if we work on it at _my_ house instead? I live within walking distance from the school."

 _What the heck?_ I have no problem with it either way, but usually people are _dying_ to see the Uchiha mansion. This guy just gets weirder and weirder. I mean, it's annoying when people get all excited by the fact that my family has money and it really irks me, but I at least know how to handle that. It happens all the time. Now as refreshing as this all is, how the heck am I suppose to handle _this guy?_ This kind of situation has never happened to me before. Typically, people get all house-conscious and don't want me over to their place unless they have a mansion as well. Maybe this guy's secretly loaded then...

* * *

 _I couldn't have been more wrong_ , I thought, as we approached a dilapidated apartment at the back of a building in the sketchiest part of town I've -thankfully- never seen. This is the complete _opposite_ of loaded. This entire complex isn't even worth as much as my _cottage,_ let along my house. Surely Naruto's playing a joke on me right now.

Naruto dissociated that theory the second he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked what seemed to be the front door.

"It's not much, but make yourself at home," Naruto said, stepping inside the apartment. I was hesitant for a second, but followed in after him, the floorboards creaking loudly every time I moved.

The lighting inside the apartment was rather bad, it was like entering an old closet. The light bulbs seemed to be hardly holding on to their last watts.

As soon as I walked in, there was a chesterfield(1) against the far wall, I supposed that meant that this was the living room. On the opposite wall, there was a "white" fridge that was yellowing with age, a sink, a stove, and some cupboards. I guess that served as the kitchen. There was a small battered looking wooden table with a few chairs - the dining area I guess.

From where I stood I could see two doors. I'm guessing that was the bedroom and the bathroom.

i don't really know what to say about all this. Thankfully, Naruto started talking anyway.

"I'd give you a tour, but it's pretty obvious where everything is. The door to the left is the bathroom, the one to the right is my room," Naruto smiled, "It's not much, but I'm only one person and I find it pretty cozy."

Again, I'm not really sure what to say to that, so I decided to change the subject, "So where do your parents sleep then?"

Silence.

"Well, uh..." Naruto said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Up there I assume," he said pointing upwards. "They died shortly after I was born."

"Shit, I'm really sorry I-" I blurted out.

"It's okay," he interrupted. "It was a long time ago. It's not like you could've known anyway," he said with a smile - a _genuine_ smile.

How can he even smile while talking about something like this? Sure, I wasn't that close with any of my family, but I don't think I could ever talk about deaths like that so lightly.

It all seemed a little odd. It made me wonder how the heck both parents could die shortly after having a son. I mean, it's an unusual situation. It's one thing for his mom to die giving birth or something, but how would they _both_ die just after he was born? I wanted to ask _how_ they had died, but it's really not any of my business. Also, I may not have the best social skills, but I'm pretty sure that's not something you can just ask about like that.

 _Shit_ , I know I said I wasn't going to ask, but I'm so goddamn curious now. I need to find a way to distract myself from thinking about this.

"So should we start working on the project?"

"Yeah, sounds good," I answered a little too quickly. I just really needed _something_ to help stop me from asking about his parents. I'm sure he's thought about them enough to last a lifetime, living alone and all. I know I would've ruminated on the topic for countless hours if I were in his place and I can't imagine how crappy that would feel.

* * *

We worked on the project for the rest of the evening and it wasn't until 7pm that the thought of leaving crossed my mind.

We got a lot of work done today and the project was nearly finished. But at the same time, I had a lot of fun working together with Naruto on this. I didn't even notice how much time had gone by.

Despite it's appearance, Naruto's house had a much better atmosphere than mine _ever_ had.

Everyone in my family was obsessed with the business and invested so much time into it that it had seeped into all of our personal lives. Even at home, everyone behaved professionally, as if they had never left the Uchiha Corp building.

My mother was always wearing her fancy dresses and heels with her hair done up in intricate designs.

My father was always wearing his expensive suits and expense watches, with my older brother right behind him.

None of them ever had the time or apparel to play with me.

Naturally, I had strictly been taught that it would not be tolerated in any _way, shape, or form_ if I left a single pea on my plate at dinner, if I ate sweets, if I went to bed late, didn't get perfect grades, or wanted to play outside in the rain or park like other kids.

It was _unrefined_ and simply unacceptable by their standards. But just how much _refinement_ does a child residing at home need? I'll never understand it and I'll never want anything to do with Uchiha Corp because of it.

But Naruto had no association with a multi-million dollar company and he didn't care about any of that. He was different. He wasn't concerned with how his mannerisms appeared to others. He wasn't trying to impress anyone. He just liked to have fun. He made corny jokes and snorted when he laughed without any restraint. For some reason, this all just gave me that warm, fulfilled feeling again. I don't know _why_ I feel this way or _what_ it's supposed to mean, but it was a nice feeling nonetheless, and I wasn't complaining.

Maybe if I didn't bring up how late it was, I could stay a bit longer...

"Whoa, look how dark it's gotten!" Naruto exclaimed, looking out the window. _No such luck._ I blame the sun, or lack thereof, for ruining my happiness and giving away the time.

I expected Naruto to try to kick me out, but instead, he surprised me by asking if I wanted anything to eat.

"What?" He asked. "It's late and we haven't eaten anything since _lunch_. Surely you're hungry by now."

He continued talking to himself as I tried to gather my thoughts. "Well, even if _you're_ not hungry, _I'm_ most definitely hungry. _Starved_ actually. You need to eat something even if you don't feel like it. We're growing boys, yanno?"

That last comment made me chuckle a bit to myself. He sounded motherly.

He may be the same age as me, but at times, he said things a parent would say. I guess it makes sense though, since he's had to be his _own_ parents all this time.

Naruto turned around when he heard me laugh, " _You_ especially need to do some growing," he said. "You already have the face of girl, so if you're going to keep that long hair, you need to get taller so that people can tell you're not a chick. Maybe even grow a beard or something," Naruto laughed

Oh that is _not_ cool.

If anyone but Naruto said that to me... Well, you don't even want to know what would happen.

"If anything _you're_ the girl here, Uzumaki. I may not be a giant, but I'm still taller than _you,_ " I teased. "And just _who's_ making _who_ food right now."

Naruto looked shocked, but recovered quickly, "Alright, alright," he conceded. "But I could still take you on any day," he said with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"That a challenge? i asked stepping in the kitchen.

"It could be, but that all depends on just how good you really are," he remarked, turning his attention back to the food on the stove top. _Big mistake, Blondie_ , I thought to myself.

I wrapped my arm around his head while he was turned around and started grinding my fist into his scalp.

"Ah!" he yelled out in surprise. He began trying to squirm out of my grip. To no avail, of course.

"How good i really am, huh?" I echoed.

What happened next really shocked me. Naruto hooked one of his legs behind one of mine, causing me to lose my balance and fall backwards. But since I was holding onto to him still, he fell down with me. _What an idiot._

Thankfully, only his head had landed on me after he fell. The rest of him was laying on the ground beside me, still squirming. But landing flat on my back had me slightly winded and my grip had loosened, so this time he was able to slip out from under my arm.

Before I even realized what was happening, he had swung his leg over my waist and plopped himself down on me rather ungracefully.

I felt the wind leave me yet again.

He grabbed my wrists so that i couldn't push him off of me.

"If i end up burning the ramen because of you, I'm giving you all the burnt stuff,"he grinned.

"Do you smell that? I think it's burning already."

"WHAT!?" he exclaimed. When he briefly looked away to see if there was any smoke coming out of the pot, i took this as an opportunity to roll him off of me and reverse our positions.

"You're so gullible," I smirked.

"That's foul play! Don't use my precious ramen against me like that, it's a gift from the gods!" He sounded so serious when he said this, i couldn't help but laugh.

But once I started laughing, I found myself unable to stop again. It seems as though I've been finding the oddest things funny lately.

Naruto must've found my reaction funny because he started laughing as well.

Then his laughing at my laughing started to seem funny and we both couldn't stop laughing.

When I had finally stopped laughing. Naruto started snort-laughing and I couldn't help myself from laughing again.

Sometimes he would stop laughing as well, only to resume doing it again.

We both probably spent a good 5 minutes hunched over and rolling on the floor laughing.

Eventually, we found ourselves slowing down to a stop and then we were both left smiling on the floor, trying to catch our breaths.

"That was so retarded," I huffed.

He slapped me lightly in the shoulder, "Didn't think you had it in you to do something so retarded, Mr. Perfect."

I slapped him back, "You shouldn't use that word," I said. "It doesn't suit your _golden personality."_

 _"What?_ You can use it and I can't? What kind of logic is that?" he joked.

"Yeah, 'cuz I'm _Mr. Perfect_ \- I can't mess up no matter what I say. You're just Naruto," I said, referring to his previously made comment.

He said nothing at this. He just rolled his eyes and grinned at me. I felt myself grinning back.

"So, about the ramen..." I trailed off.

"Oh shit! i forgot about that!" He jumped up and ran back to the stove.

"Yo it's swollen as fuck, but it's still good!" He yelled. "Get your ass in here, Uchiha!"

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes as I walked back towards the stove. I'm surprised at how much distance we actually made while we were wrestling.

"What kind of a dinner is ramen anyway?" I asked.

Naruto stopped what he was doing when I said that - chopsticks poised in the air from when he was dividing the contents of the pot into two bowls for the two of us. He looked up at me very seriously and said, "Your _last_ dinner if you keep disgracing my ramen."

I shifted. I wasn't expecting him to say that. The guy sure was serous about his ramen. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me just a little bit uncomfortable.

Naruto must've noticed, because he started chuckling to himself.

"I know it's not the most nutritious thing you could possibly eat, but trust me, when you try my ramen, you'll be begging me for more," he said, continuing to distribute the ramen into bowls.

 _Just how good can noodles possibly be?_ I asked myself, not daring to say it out-loud so Naruto could hear. Who knows how he would react to that. He was seriously starting to freak me out a bit with his little obsession.

I grabbed the package Naruto had left off to the side on the counter and began reading the nutrition label for the "gift from the gods."

"Jesus Christ, Naruto. Look at how much sodium and fat is in this stuff! You actually _eat_ this?" I said in surprise. "You could salt your driveway in the winter with this." Okay that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it really did have a lot of salt. It was nearly half the amount you required daily - forty percent - all in just one measly bowl. No wonder Naruto was such a strange guy. His blood pressure must be through the roof.

"Well you know how it is. Sacrifices must be made for the common good," he said, matter-of-factly.

"And just what kind of good does this heart attack accomplish?" I asked, interested in hearing his answer.

At this, Naruto looked directly into my eyes and said, "It's good for your _soul_ , Sasuke.

Nope. Fucking _nope_. Not this again. God, it's like he becomes possessed when ever we talk about this salty, oriental concoction.

"What soul?" I muttered to myself.

"Alright, let's eat!" He yelled, carrying the bowls to his battered table.

He quickly slapped down a pair of chopsticks in front of me and began devouring his own bowl of noodles.

I felt a little bit hesitant about eating it. I like my food plain and I don't normally add salt to _anything;_ however, this single bowl had more salt in it than I've probably consumed all _week_. I had an irrational fear that it would shock my body to have a bunch of salt enter my system all of a sudden. Naruto spontaneously began laughing, "Oh my God, Sasuke. You're acting like you've never had ramen before."

...

"Well actually..." i started. I really haven't, but I'm not sure if i should tell a ramen addict like himself that. Just as i was about to decide not to tell him, he interrupted my thoughts.

" _No way,"_ he breathed, a bewildered look in his eyes. Uh oh, I don't like that look at all.

Before I knew it, he had jumped out of his chair and was standing in front of me. Just what the heck is this ramen-possessed dork planning on doing this time?

* * *

(1) A **chesterfield** is the Newfy way of saying 'sofa' or 'couch' in Canada. I don't normally use this word when I'm talking to people, but I thought it'd be fun to add some canadianisms to the story. Also, a "newfy" is slang for a Newfoundlander, which is someone who resides in Newfoundland, Canada.

Gosh, it took me like a week to finish this with school and all, but here's chapter two finally!

 _If you find any typos, please leave me a comment and I'll fix it._

 _Suggestions are welcomed too!_

We can even talk about the weather if you like XD

I'll start, it's hella hot in Southern Ontario right now, so I've been stuck taking the bus instead of walking home. I miss my walks :(


	3. Ramen Obsessed

**A/N:** Sorry it took me like… *counts on fingers* two weeks to get around to updating this. I had to do my culminating tasks and exams for school and the stress from it all was giving me really bad writer's block. Buuuut I'm back now and pretty much have all the free time in the world to update since I'm on summer break.

I don't usually write intense content, but stuff gets a bit emotional in this chapter when more about Sasuke's at-home life is revealed. Things also get more scientific as well – that part was fun to write.

Leave a comment to tell me what you think.

* * *

 **Previously:**

I felt a little bit hesitant about eating it. I like my food plain and I don't normally add salt to _anything;_ however, this single bowl encased more salt in it than I've probably consumed all _week_. To be fairly honest, I have a slight irrational fear that it would shock my body to have this much sodium enter my system like that all of a sudden. Also, as much as I hate to say it, I was questioning the sanitation of the thing as well. A product sold for that cheap can't possible have all that many production regulations and even the health safety of Naruto's apartment was a bit questionable. The hot water would likely help eliminate any bacteria though, I guess…

Naruto spontaneously began laughing, "Oh my God, Sasuke. You're acting like you've never had ramen before."

...

"Well actually..." i started. I really haven't, but I'm not sure if i should tell a ramen addict like himself that. Just as i was about to decide not to tell him, he interrupted my thoughts.

" _No way,"_ he breathed, a bewildered look in his eyes. Uh oh, I don't like that look at all.

Before I knew it, he had jumped out of his chair and was standing in front of me. Just what the heck is this ramen-possessed dork planning on doing this time?

* * *

 **Chapter 3:** Ramen Obsessed

* * *

Naruto leaned forwards until he was just inches away from my face, his blue eye bore into my brown ones inquisitively. He looked like he wanted to say something but he remained silent. I wish he'd just say something already. I'm not the kind of person who gets nervous easily, but he was starting to set me a bit on edge. If there's one thing – just one – that makes me uncomfortable, it's physical contact. I blame my family for that one. It's a well-known fact that it's a bit too intimate for business associates to partake in physical contact beyond shaking hands – another thing my parents brought home with them when raising me. God knows how many times I've attempted t get over my issues with physical contact, but I just can't seem to override what's been ingrained into me since I was young. It just always feels _wrong,_ and it makes my _skin crawl with the_ _ **need**_ _to make it stop,_ as if my life depended on it.

Naruto startled me out of my thoughts when he grabbed both of my shoulders.

 _Nope,_ I'm out of here. This guy would make a pretty decent friend, but this is a line I'm not willing to cross.

"Ever heard of personal space?" I questioned, jaw clenched.

"You've _really_ never had ramen before!?" He exclaimed, ignoring my question. Not wanting to respond, I narrowed my eyes, daring him to do something about it, but the effect was lost on him as he continued filling the silence animatedly.

"You're really something else you know. Like a completely different species. I've never met anyone who hasn't had ramen before. I practically _live_ off the stuff. But despite having eaten the stuff for years, my love for it hasn't dimmed yet. If that's not true love then I don't know what is," he joked. Or at least, I hope he was joking.

"What have you even been eating all these years, man?"

"The hearts of small children." Naruto's eyes widened at this and I couldn't help but smirk in amusement. I could have some fun with this.

"Sometimes I even treat myself to the kidneys of the people I don't like," I continued. "But I don't kill my victims; I only take _one_ of their kidneys. Sometimes I even take their appendix. I'm really doing them a favour with that one though. It's a useless organ in this era and a quarter of the residents in the United States alone end up having to undergo surgery to have their appendix removed each year anyway." I stopped talking when I looked over at Naruto and noticed that he was gapping at me from where he stood, and seemed to cease breathing.

"Naruto," I said, waving my hand in front of his face.

He double-blinked and then let out a breath he probably didn't even realize he was holding.

"Ye-Yeah? I mean, yes?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. I can't believe he was taking me seriously on this. This guy may be an okay partner for our project, but he's still a halfwit. A really, _really_ gullible one.

"What do you _think_ I've been eating? I eat _food._ Preferably tomatoes and stir-fry with some nice vintage red wine," I said exasperated.

I give up with the jokes. I know that some people find me intimidating and serious, but come _on_. Realistically, a diet consisting of human hearts, kidneys and whatever else wouldn't even be sustainable or a significant source of nutrition – especially with all the processed and genetically modified crap people eat these days. It would hardly be any better than consuming ramen everyday. Plus, I'd probably contract some uncanny disease from all the contact I'd have with human blood. Somehow, I doubt telling any of this to Naruto would improve the situation though.

"What?" Naruto inquired, finally snapping out of his stupor.

"I was joking," I replied tiredly.

"Oh?" He asked, looking to me for confirmation. I just raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh," he concluded.

"Yeah, oh," I echoed. _What even is this situation?_ It's so awkward now. I guess it's time to take my leave. I've had enough social interaction for one day anyway – probably enough to last me all week, to be frank.

"Well this was great and all," I said, getting out my chair and slipping past Naruto. "I think it's time for me head out. If you have any questions about the project, you have my number, so feel free to—"

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted as I was reaching for my jacket haphazardly strewn across the back of the chesterfield. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, mister. You can't escape it that easily!"

"I'm sorry, what?" What the heck is he talking about. It this some kind of a weird joke, because it seems even worse than the one I just made.

"You didn't even touch the dinner I made you." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He came over and pushed me back towards the table, leading me back to my seat. I guess it _was_ kind of insulting that I didn't touch the food he made me, even if it was just instant ramen. I wasn't even thinking about that. This guy really makes me lose my head with all his incessant nonsense sometimes, it must be contagious or something, I mused. I was never like this before I met him, especially not with the manner-obsessed parents I have.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked, walking all of four steps to the kitchen. I could've grabbed myself a drink, it's not little it'd be much of a challenge to find things in this petit apartment, but if he insists on playing host then I guess I can entertain his little game.

"I don't suppose you have any wine?" He turned around and gave me a look that was a cross between disbelief and irritation. I guess you could call it a 'what-the-fuck look.'

"We're underage you man-child, so no, I don't have any old grape juice. I thought people like you were supposed to play by the rules."

"I'm not some goody-two shoes, I'm just better at discretely breaking the rules than you are, loser," I replied. That's too bad. I actually do like wine. It what's my parents always drank during business dinners and thus what they always drank at home. I guess at some point that habit also rubbed off on me, though I have no idea when.

"If you can call rolling you eyes at the teacher breaking the rules, then sure." I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at that one, but Naruto caught it anyways and gave me a knowing smirk.

"What _do_ you have then?" I questioned, changing the subject.

"Water," came his reply.

"What? Then why'd you even bother asking what I wanted?"

"I don't have guests over very often," He shrugged. "I thought I'd indulge myself. You're supposed to ask these things when you have people over right?"

"Yes, but you're supposed to actually have something to offer first," I mentally facepalmed.

"Alright, so water it is," He grinned, as he started rummaging through the cupboards. "What an easy request that was."

"Idiot," I murmured under my breath.

"Actually!" He shouted excitedly. "I think I have some teabags from when I swiped some from a funeral. You look like the kind of guy who likes tea, want some?"

"Dead-people tea? Not really."

"Oh, c'mon," He prodded, ripping open the package anyway.

I was going to make another joke, but when I turned around he had this disappointed look on his face. If he really wats to make me tea that bad, then who am I to stop him I guess. At least I can cross drinking dead-people tea off my bucket list after this.

"Try not to hurt yourself boiling water," I conceded.

"Aha!" He triumphed, ignoring my insult. "So how do you like it? With honey? Sugar? That nasty artificial sweetener stuff? I don't have creamer, so don't even bother asking for that one."

"Well at least you're being honest about the options this time. I normally just drink it black."

"Seriously? No sugar?" He asked, scrunching up his nose.

"That carcinogenic crap? I'll pass. You know the WBC in the human body already eliminates several million cancer cells each day? I don't need to increase my odds of some of it surviving."

"But that stuff is so _bitter_ , no wonder you're such a bitter guy," He teased. "I'm gonna' add sugar anyway, you look like you need more sugar in your life anyway," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I'm not even going to ask what that's supposed to mean.

I frowned as he finished stirring in the sugar and placed it in front of me.

"C'mon Sasukeeee, I'm sure your WDD will be fine," he whined.

"WBC," I corrected. "If you give me cancer, I'm sending you my medical bills," I said, taking a sip of the tea. "I might just sue you too," I added, wrinkling my nose. This stuff was definitely too sweet for my liking.

"Yeah, yeah," He said leaning against the table.

"Alright, it's time for you to lose your ramen virginity to me now!" I choked on my tea a bit when he said that, just barely avoiding doing a spit-take.

" _Excuse me_?"

"You've never had ramen before, right? That makes you a ramen virgin. Well, time to lose it, let's go!" He said cheerfully, picking up my chopsticks from the table.

I set my tea down and rubbed my face with my hands. "Please don't about sex while I'm eating," I pleaded.

"What? I'd never," he said. "I was just talking about your ramen-deficient lifestyle."

"That's like the same thing. You said virginity, which is most associated with sex."

"Well maybe, but eating ramen is even better than sex."

"I'm not having this conversation with you."

"That's okay, you don't have to. Just open wide for the chu-chu train," He baby-talked, holding a mouth-full of ramen in front of me.

"Oh, my god, I'm _not_ eating that."

"What? Are you insulting my cooking for the _second_ time today? You even tried to leave earlier," He said, frowning.

"No, I mean I'm not letting you force-feed me like some disobedient child."

"Well right now you _are_ a disobedient child – a cranky one. I might just have to spank you later too." I looked up at him repulsed and he burst out laughing.

"C'mon wittle Sasuke-chan, didn't your parents ever feed you like this when you were little?"

" _No."_ I snapped.

Naruto's eyes widened, all traces of amusement leaving his face. "Yeah, me neither..." He said, handing me back my chopsticks and moving back over to the other side of the room.

"Hey, wait – "

"Sorry, I guess you're more than capable of feeding yourself then." He replied tonelessly.

 _Shit_. I really didn't mean to snap at him. I just couldn't stop myself from getting defensive like that when he mentioned my parents all of a sudden. We never had a very good relationship. They were always tormenting about how I was never as successful or impressive as my older brother. That I was just some immature child they regretted having. Every day at dinner, if they weren't tormenting me, they'd simply ignore me and talk about all the great things my brother did that day. Itachi's _six years_ older, of course I can't even _compare_ to him. I'm always going to be behind him. But of course, _my_ success will never be enough for my parents, even if I'm doing better than all the other kids my age. But Naruto doesn't know any of that. I shouldn't have gotten mad at him, he probably thinks it's his fault.

I should probably finish eating before I go after Naruto since he was so adamant on me trying it. I wouldn't want to "insult his 'cooking'" for a third time today.

As I took in a mouthful of the ramen, I was actually moderately surprised. It wasn't _that_ bad for something that costed less than a dollar. It seemed like he added some additional spices to it. A bit of oregano and some chili powder, maybe some garlic. It wasn't too salty either. I mean, it was salty, but it wasn't like I was bombarded by salt. I guess all those years of eating ramen gave him an idea of what he was doing. When I finished my bowl, I ended up wanting seconds, but it unfortunately, it seemed as though Naruto had already finished off the pot earlier, while I was contemplating how safe it was to eat. I grabbed my mug of tea and followed the general direction of where I saw Naruto leave earlier. I found him sitting on the steps outside of his apartment as I closed the door.

Naruto didn't acknowledge my presence as I stood behind him.

I cleared my throat and took a seat beside him on the steps. "The ramen was actually pretty good. Although, I still prefer my tea without sugar…" Naruto still didn't say anything. "I don't know much about ramen, but I'm pretty sure most people don't add a pinch of oregano to it like that. It was a nice touch."

"You know," He began, and I involuntarily tensed. "That white stuff with the pink swirl on it in the ramen is called Naruto. Sometimes I wonder if my parents named me after that, but I never got the chance to ask. Seems like it'd be fitting, right? Given my tastes and all…" He paused. "They… I don't even remember what they looked like. They past away before I can remember." He said, his voice just above a whisper.

There was something eerie about the way he said that – it gave me the chills. I felt guilty about complaining about my parents, meanwhile Naruto had never even had any. My parents may have been assholes, but at the end of the day, they still somewhat took care of me. I mean, my bathroom was the size of Naruto's apartment and I had never even had to resort to eating ramen _once_ , let alone eating it every day.

Since Naruto had stuck his neck out in taking the liberty of explaining things to me, I wanted to return the favour.

"My parents… are the cold, business type. They run Uchiha Corp and treat their home like it's simply an extension of their business. My brother is pretty well following in their footsteps, so they never felt like they ever needed me around. I'm just a waste of their finances. A poor investment they can't terminate," I admitted, clenching my fists.

"They sound like a couple of dicks," Naruto breathed. I laughed hollowly at his word choice. I can just imagine the disapproving look my parents would have on their faces if they ever heard me say something like that.

We sat in silence, looking out onto the city. This may be a pretty shitty apartment, but it has a nice view from out here. It's quiet too.

"You turned out alright though," Naruto said, slapping me on the back. He left his arm resting on my shoulders and offered me a small smile. "Cheers to us raising ourselves," he said taking my mug out of my hands and taking a swig of my tea. He made a sound of protest and spat it out over the side of the railing. "Gaaaaah, I still don't know how you can stomach that," he said, disgusted.

I snorted, "You turned out alright, too. A little rough around the edges but at least you seem human."

Naruto looked back at me, his eyes bright despite the darkness of the night that surrounded us. "That's just part of my charm," he chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll bet that little stunt you just pulled gets all the ladies."

"Oh yeah, that one gets them all hot an' bothered."

"Yeah, especially if you accidentally spit it out _on_ them," I added, noting that my shirt was actually a little wet from that.

"Oh," he said, noticing my shirt. "Looks like you got wet for me too."

I glared at him, not appreciating the double entendre, but I couldn't keep the smile from forming on my face. "Your lack of manners never ceases to amaze me, Uzumaki."

"Hmm," he hummed pensively. "Yeah, I suppose I'm more of the ruggedly handsome bad-boy type, no?" He asked, slicking his hair back with his hand.

"I think most people would agree with me that angelic blond hair and blue eyes isn't all that dangerous looking."

"I'm a fallen angel then, I guess," He decided.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" I joked, quoting an overused pick-up line.

"Trying to pick me up, Uchiha?" He asked as he stood, popping out his hip and giving me a mock-suggestive look, eyebrows raised.

I snorted, looking up at him from where I remained sitting. "I'm not weak or anything, but I don't think that even _I'd_ be able to pick _you_ up."

Naruto fake gasped, "Are you calling me fat?!" He asked, waving his hand in a feminine manner.

"Is this one of those situations where you tell the other person they're perfect the way they are despite it being a lie?" I asked contemptuously.

"See, this is why you don't have a girlfriend," Naruto stated.

"Hn," I huffed. "I don't really want one in all honesty. More trouble than it's worth."

"But if you'd just get one already, then you wouldn't have to keep fighting off all your fangirls with a stick."

"I doubt they mind. They're probably just waiting for me to run out of sticks so that I have to fight them off with my dick."

Naruto laughed, "Oh god, _what have I done?_ I've corrupted the great Uchiha. You're even talking about dicks now."

"Yeah, I'm sure my parents would be real proud of me," I said bitterly.

Naruto's smile fell. "Fuck your parents."

I hummed in agreement. "So, what about you, where's _your_ girlfriend at, hm?"

Naruto looked out into the distance, "I'm still waiting for her to notice that I exist," he said longingly.

"And who might that be?" I asked.

"Sakura," he said, still not making eye-contact with me.

"Who's that again?" I asked, scrunching my face in concentration, trying to remember where I've heard that name before.

Naruto looked over at me, "You 'ought to work on your thinking face dude. Your glares already scare away half the girls that try to approach you."

"Looks like my glares are doing their job then."

"You're really not into _any_ of them?" Naruto asked skeptically, looking at me from his peripheral vision.

"No, I'm really not," I huffed again. "How many times do I have to tell you? And why the heck are you looking at me like that?"

Naruto turned his face away from me. Fidgeting with the hem of his shirt he replied, "Well, it's just that… Sakura actually likes _you_. She's not into me. She only notices you."

"Again, who the heck is this Sakura person?"

Naruto's face snapped back towards mine, eyes narrowed. "Dude, she sits right beside you in class. Pink hair, green eyes…"

"Oh, you're talking about _pinky_. You forgot that she's really annoying and has no sense of personal space."

"That's because she's flirting with you," he said irritated. "She's touching you on purpose."

"Oh, lucky me." I said sarcastically. "Sorry, _why_ do you like her again?"

Naruto's eyes scanned my face before turning back towards the city. "You really don't like her back, do you?"

"That's what I've been saying. I still have yet to tell you a lie. I don't see why you're so distrusting of me," I said leaning back on my hands.

"It's not that… I just…" He trailed off.

We sat in comfortable silence, watching the cars pass while Naruto collected his thoughts.

"I don't really know why I like her," he sighed. "I never really thought about it."

"Nice," I mused.

"Hey… Shut up."

"Nice one again."

"Bastard!"

"Idiot."

"Asshole!"

"True," I agreed.

"Jeez," Naruto laughed. "You're not supposed to agree with me. Haven't you ever bantered with your brother before?" He asked without thinking. "Oh shit, don't answer that."

"Hn." I replied uncaringly. "It's fine, you idiot." I reassured him, flicking a pebble at him that was beside me on the stairs.

"Hey, I know I said something dickish, but I don't think I deserved to get stoned or smited with a rock for that."

"Dickish isn't a word, you buffoon, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Right, that's very convincing, because you're such a sentimental person," Naruto mocked.

"Yeah, well. I wouldn't have survived with my family if I were sentimental." I said defeatedly.

Naruto was silent.

"I'm like this because the world demanded it of me. It wasn't like it was much of a choice."

"Yeah, I get that," Naruto said quietly. "Life sucks."

"Hn," I said non-committally, closing my eyes and basking in the crisp night breeze. I definitely used to feel that way as well, but now I feel like it's not so bad. I could feel Naruto looking at me. "What is it?"

"Can I… Can I ask you something?"

"Got a burning question?"

"Yeah… So, about your brother…" My eyes snapped open at this.

Naruto bit his lip and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I've never had a brother before or even a sister. And I never had anyone I could ask about this… But, what's it like having one?" He asked, slightly red. "I know you don't really get along with your family, but surely there's something… special about having a family. Something different at least… I mean, I totally get it if you don't want to talk about it though."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. I really don't like them, like you said. But Itachi, my brother wasn't always so bad. I can't imagine what it'd be like not having him around."

"Mm, I guess it's a bit lonesome," He laughed, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "But what I've found is that being alone isn't what makes you lonely. It's being surrounded by the wrong people that does." It caught me off guard to hear Naruto say something so serious… Something so deep and profound. Suddenly he seemed years older and his eyes had this distant look in them. You could see that he had endured his fair bit of hardships in the past just by looking at him.

"Yeah, I can see that…" I said, unsure of what to say in response to that. "Right, so, my brother, huh?" I started. "I remember when I was really little, we used to have a lot of fun together. I guess at that time he was decidedly too young to start having to worry about all the responsibilities an heir has," I laughed bitterly, trying to relieve some tension.

"Our house in near the edge of the city. It's got lots of privacy, which is what my parents liked, but what my brother and I liked was that there's this forest out back. We'd go romping about day-in and day-out and goof around – our favourite game was playing ninja. We'd carve shuriken using our pocket knives and wood we found in the forest. When we got home, we'd watch videos of parkour and try it out the next day. Naturally, since he was six years older, he had a bit of an advantage and was able to do some of the parkour moves that I couldn't, but I still tried to keep up with him. Often times I'd get injured and then he'd carry be home on his back. Sometimes I even just pretended to get hurt so that he'd carry me home because I'd be exhausted from our games and it was a long walk home. He was… he was pretty much the perfect brother. He was smart and well-mannered, the adults always loved him, the kids his age loved him, and I really looked up to him... At the time, anyway," I quickly added. "He never treated me like a kid. I remember how adults used to baby-talk me even when I was perfectly capable of understanding what they were saying, but Itachi would talk to me and treat me just like he would anyone else. He was my best friend," I reminisced. "It was always hard for me to make friends because of my parents and money and all. Girls were more interested in dating me and guys were more interested in trying to beat me all the time. But most people were just too afraid of the consequences if they somehow messed up on being my friend. I don't really get it in all honesty."

I ran my hand threw my hair, "Inevitably, the day came when my father decided that it was time to start priming Itachi for his future responsibilities. His free-time became virtually non-existent, but when he had time to himself, he'd spend it with me instead. He was more kind than my mother ever was. He used to be the most self-sacrificing person I've ever known." I paused. _Fuck_ , it hurt to talk about this, but for Naruto's sake, and partially some of my own, I continued. "Then one day, all of sudden, he just seemed to change. His eyes no longer held the same warmth, and he no longer set aside time to spend with me. He began taunting me the same way my parents would; well, the way my father would. My mother never said anything, but she never denied anything my father said to me either. After all, her job was to be the perfect wife, not the perfect mother," I sneered.

I could feel more and more of my bottled-up emotions pour out the more I talked. I have no doubt in my mind that keeping all these feelings to myself was never any good for my health, but my pride never would've allowed me to do anything different about it. The only reason why it felt okay to talk about it right now was because Naruto's different, he's like me and seems to understand somehow. He doesn't look at me with pity in his eyes, he looks at me with understanding and compassion, though I can't imagine how he'd understand all this. He said he didn't have parents. I'll have to wait for him to tell me that later though. That's not something you can just ask about.

"For years, he was the one person I could count on, despite all the crap my parents threw at me." I said, unable to utter my brother's name in that moment. "And before I even knew what had happened, it all changed. A complete 180. For years, I wondered if it was something I had done that caused him to change. But I've learned to stop burdening myself with things out of my control. I can't change him and to be honest, I never thought anyone could. He changed himself. He's always been untouchable, even to me…"

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Smiling bitterly, I turned towards Naruto, "Anyway, that's my sob story. Sorry if I talked your ear off."

Naruto returned to his seat beside me and looked at me, taking a moment to read my expression, his eyes shifting back-and-forth across my face, "Don't do that." He said sternly. "You can be as sad or pissed as you want. Given your situation, you're entitled to that if you ask me. But don't _fucking pretend_ to be okay like that. I spent my entire life pretending to be okay so that I wouldn't drive people away. I wasn't like you, I couldn't fend for myself. I had to pathetically depend on others to get by and I got help by acting like a perfectly happy kid that people couldn't help but _want_ to aid," He exhaled harshly. I looked down at my socks, unable to maintain eye-contact with Naruto after hearing that.

"If I was able to 'fend for myself,' I never wouldn't have had to put up with any of that shit my family gave me. I'm more useless than you give me credit for. You actually _did_ something about the situation you were in. I did _nothing,"_ I said slowly, trying to keep my voice steady and inflectionless. Naruto responded by grabbing my shoulder and pulling me against him.

"I'm not trying to cop a feel or anything man," He explained, "But you look like you could use a hug." And he was right, after years of lacking any emotional or physical connection to anyone, it felt nice to know that someone cared. I craved it. Needed it.

In that moment, I didn't mind how vulnerable opening up to Naruto left me. He's more than proven that I can trust him and that he's suffered through similar hardships to me. He's the one person that's been able to understand me in the slightest since my brother abandoned me.

Evidently, even the universe seemed to understand the situation, as it started to rained immediately after we stopped talking. Naruto didn't seem to care though and he continued to keep his arm wrapped around my shoulder while we sat in the rain.

I was able to sit there for all 30 seconds until I broke the silence, "I'm not really a fan of pneumonia, so we should probably head inside."

"You're really good at ruining the moment, you know?" He grunted.

"Yeah, well, I think I've had enough bromance and self-pity for one evening," I admitted. "But thanks," I added nearly inaudibly.

Naruto simply nodded in response and I wasn't sure if he even heard the last part or not, but I decided that it wasn't of much importance as I trailed after Naruto into his apartment. I nearly cried and cuddled with the guy like a little girl. Saying thanks isn't nearly as much out of character for me as all that was. It was probably the least of my worries at this point.


End file.
